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Mark Hamill Once Made a Dying Child’s Wish Come True

On Twitter, Men in Black screenwriter Ed Solomon recalled the time Star Wars veteran Mark Hamill visited his friend’s terminally ill child, despite never having met either of them before. “When a friend’s son (who was, so tragically, dying from an incurable illness) made a wish: to meet Luke Skywalker, it fell on me — the only person the dad knew who worked in the film business — to make a call,” Solomon explained.

“Not knowing Mark, I called his agent and explained that this lovely boy watched Star Wars every day and wanted to meet NOT Mark Hammill, but, rather, the actual CHARACTER that he played (the boy’s own mental state had devolved past the point of being able to grok that Luke was fictional),” he continued.

“The agent begrudgingly said he’d call Mark, but also said not to get my hopes up. 90 seconds later I got a call from @HamillHimself, who immediately said yes and gave me his home address,” he wrote. “He not only met with the boy, but spent hours answering question after question (sometimes the same ones repeatedly), AS ‘Luke.’ Even posting this now makes me teary. He was compassionate, kind, and patient. And it literally meant the world to this kid and his family.”

When a friend's son (who was, so tragically, dying from an incurable illness) made a wish: to meet Luke Skywalker, it fell on me — the only person the dad knew who worked in the film business — to make a call. 1/4

Returning to the franchise that launched his career has been emotional for the actor. In an interview, Hamill described the experience as “one of those things that if you start crying, I’ll start crying,” when people share with him their stories of how much Star Wars has meant to them. Stories like the one told by Solomon make it easy to see why.